Longing For the Word of God.

Opening:

Good morning again. It is such a wonderful thing to be fed by the Word of God on the Lord’s Day.

Introduction of the Passage:

Well, we have wrapped up chapter one of 1 Peter. So now we are moving on to chapter two. We will be in 1 Peter 2:1-3. These three short verses are really a continuation of Peter’s thought in the ending of chapter one. Peter spoke of the love we have for one another because of our salvation and sanctification. Peter addressed how we are born again through the Word of God, how there is hope for salvation revealed only in the Word of God. Well, Peter is now continuing this thought of brotherly love and the life giving nature of the Word of God.

Reading of the Passage:

So with this in mind, I would ask you to stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

1 Peter 2:1–3 “1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

Behold the Word of God which is our nourishment. Let’s Pray.

Prayer:

Our gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you so much that you have given us new life in Christ. We thank you that we are born again in Christ and that you promise to nurture us in growth. We thank you for this time in the Word and the life it gives. Help us to long for Your Word just as a newborn infant longs for milk. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.

Need:

One of the constants in the Christian life is that of putting sin to death and growing in holiness. This never ends. It begins when we first come to Christ and it ends when we die and go to be our Lord.

Text Idea:

This constant war that the Christian is engaged in is really the central theme of this passage. Peter is telling the first century church that is scattered across the Roman empire due to persecution that they are to put away sins and long for the pure milk of the Word because they have tasted the goodness of the Lord.

Sermon Idea:

In the same way, Because we have tasted the lovingkindness of God, we ought to lay aside our sin and long for the milk of the Word like newborn infants.

Interrogative:

Does this seem pretty straight forward?

Transition:

Well, there is a lot in these verses. A lot more than we can cover in a mere thirty minutes. So let’s dive into these three verses.

Point 1: Put Away Sin.

1 Peter 2:1 “1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.”

Explanation:

Peter opens with the command to put away sin. This statement “put away” is the idea of removing a cloak or piece of clothing. This is a common picture in the New Testament letters. Often in the New Testament we are called to put away sin. Specifically here it is malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.

This is extremely similar to multiple passages in Ephesians, Colossians, and more. It is a common picture. Take off the old robes of sin, and put on the new robes of righteousness in Christ.

Peter is commanding these first century Christians to cast off these old sinful ways. They are rotten and they stink. Remove them. Throw them in the trash. Burn them. It is almost as if you went to put on a shirt and found it covered in black mold. It is repulsive to you and you throw it away as fast as you can. That is what we are to do with these things. But what does Peter specifically say we are to put away?

Well, in reality we know we ought to throw away all sin. But there are specifics here. Peter begins with malice.

Malice:

Malice is desiring or taking joy in someone else’s pain. We have in our legal code what is known as “malice-aforethought.” Basically this means that whatever crime was committed was pre-meditated with the intent to cause harm. Malice is evil thinking. It is desiring the harm of another.

Deceit:

Deceit should be obvious. It is an attempt to deceive. It is trying to pull the wool over someone’s eyes. It is an attempt to fool someone. What else?

Hypocrisy:

Peter next brings up hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is a type of play acting. In fact, in ancient Greece, a hypocrite was what they called actors on the stage. They were faking it, acting. It is another form of deception.

Envy:

Envy is covetousness. It is seeing what someone else has and wrongfully desiring that yourself. It is seeing how someone else is blessed by God and begrudging them that blessing.

Slander:

Slander is the natural byproduct of envy. It is lying about someone with the intent to cause harm. It is gossip. It is the combination of deceit and envy.

Argumentation:

The reality is that we as Christians still struggle with sin. We have to remember, these letters were written to Christians. We struggle with all sorts of sins. But if we are honest, we can see the temptation to these specifics.

And really, that is the heart of this. These sins should not be named among Christians. A Christian has no business being malicious, deceitful, hypocrites, envious, or slanderers. These things have no place in the Christian life. We are to be loving, honest, genuine, content, and truthful about others. These sins have no place in the life of a Christian. A malicious Christian is an oxymoron. It is a completely nonsensical statement. It is like saying “a square triangle.” It does not make any sense.

A Christian cannot, in consistency with their faith, be malicious, deceitful, hypocritical, envious, or slandering. It is completely in conflict with the Christian faith. But we will struggle with these sins. We must put these to death in our life. We must never find joy in the suffering of others. We must never attempt to deceive others in our lives or business practices. We must never play act and pretend we are better than we are. We must never be envious of God’s blessing on someone else. We must never speak about others in an attempt to tear them down or destroy them. We must abjectly refuse to ever do these things. Put off those old ways. Do not let them even be named about you.

Conduct yourself in such a way that any accusation of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, or slander made against you is met with laughter by anyone who knows you. You see, people lie. I am not saying that no one will ever call you a hypocrite. People say that all the time. “Christians are hypocrites.” We cannot avoid accusations. But what we can do is ensure those accusations are false.

One pastor I deeply respect often says “If the World is not slandering you, you aren’t truly living for Christ. But it must be that, slander. The lies they tell about you must be lies.” Do not be surprised when the world hates you for the sake of Christ. Do not be surprised when they accuse you of hatred, or violence, or hypocrisy. Of course they will accuse us of these things. They hate Christ. If we are anything like Christ, the world will be rioting in order to shut us up. But their accusations must be false. We must not have even a hint of these sins our lives. We have been redeemed from these things. We are no longer slaves to them. We have been redeemed from these awful sins. And we have been redeemed for righteousness.

Transition:

Which brings us to our next point. We put away these sins, and we long for the Word of God.

Point 2: Long For the Word of God.

1 Peter 2:2 “2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—”

Explanation:

Peter is again using the image of a baby. In the previous verses he was explaining that you have been born again through the Word of God. Now he is telling us that as these newborn babes, we ought to have a starving hunger for the Word of God.

And I know what may be crossing your mind. You may be wondering where I am getting that reference to the Word of God. “Pastor, my Bible says ‘Spiritual Milk’ not Word of God.” Well, that’s true, but you see we are reading this in English. And that creates a problem for us. You see, Peter wrote this in Greek. And he is using a play on words here that really is hard to render in English. We really don’t have the right word in English to render this.

You see, in the previous verses Peter said that you are born again through “The Word of God.” In Greek that is “Logos Theos.” Literally rendered as Word of God. And in this verse, Peter is using the image of a baby again and uses the language “Logikos Gala” which we render as “Spiritual Milk.” This is because we really don’t have an English word for “logikos.” But the words “Logos” and “Logikos” are directly tied. They mean the same thing in a different form. So in English we would have to make up a word to render this. To get the idea of Peter’s word play here, I would say it like this making up a word.

“You were born again through the Word of God. So just like a newborn baby, long for the Wordical milk, that you may grow.” It is painfully obvious that Peter is saying the Bible, the Word of God, the Logos of God, is the milk Christians ought to long for. It is the nutrition that Christians require to grow in their salvation.

Peter is here using a clear illustration that any parent will instantly get. Baby’s long for milk. Babies cry out vehemently for milk when they are hungry. Every parent knows this. They cry night and day for milk. Three o’clock in the morning, the screaming wakes up the parents. “I’m hungry! Feed me!”

Peter is saying that just like that screaming child is longing for milk, the Christian ought to be crying out in hunger to be fed by the Word of God. But this is not what all babies do. This is what healthy babies do.

Illustration: Caspian and Arthur Eating.

One of the biggest learning curves for me with Caspian and Arthur is the difference in their eating. Likely, many of you have seen Caspian running around with his little yellow backpack on. That little yellow backpack is his feeding pump. He gets his food directly pumped into his stomach. He does not eat. He has no appetite. And that is because he is sick. Part of kidney failure is that it removes your appetite. Food tastes rotten or spoiled and you feel nauseous all the time.

Since Caspian was born, he would barely eat. He would not nurse, he would barely take a bottle. We had to set timers and watch the clock and shove a bottle in his mouth every couple hours. He would never cry out for food. Because he is unhealthy and sick, he did not want to eat. Eventually we had to have a feeding port surgically implanted in his stomach. He just does not desire food.

Arthur on the other hand is always hungry! He wants to eat all the time. This was actually one of the biggest adjustments to having a healthy kid. I remember right after Arthur was born, I asked Katharine, “How do we make sure he eats enough?” We had spent so long measuring Caspian’s food to ensure he got enough calories in a day that I was baffled that a baby would actually want to eat. It blew my mind. Arthur actually cries when he is hungry and wants to eat. I just did not understand how a healthy baby worked. They actually want to eat.

And that is the difference. A healthy child longs for food. An unhealthy child does not long for food.

Argumentation:

And that is true of Christians too. A healthy Christian will long for the milk of the word of God. They will long to be fed by the Word of God. But an unhealthy Christian will not have that longing. They will not feel the hunger pains. They will not have a desire for the Word of God.

When a Christian does not desire the Word of God, it is a sign of spiritual sickness. It means they are unwell. It is a serious thing. A lack of the Word of God leads to a lack of growth. You cannot grow without a steady diet of the Word. And a healthy Christian will hunger for this. They will long to be in the Word. They will long for that time of personal study. They will long for that time of hearing God’s Word read and preached. They will long for those times of study in groups. There is a strong hunger for the Word. This really is a mark of a healthy Christian.

And they will cry out when they are denied the Word. When a preacher stands up and gives empty platitudes, they will cry out, “Where is the Word of God? We are hungry and want the Word!” You know, that really is the only thing I want from my preaching. I just want to give you the Word. If I am a poor speaker, I am okay with that. If my illustrations are not the best, that’s fine. My goal is not to entertain. My goal is to give you the Word.

But sadly in our day, we clearly see the unhealthy state of Christianity. There is a lack of hunger for the Word. Christians are not crying out, “give us the Word!” We have more access to the Scripture in our day than at any other time in human history. But we look around the Church and it is dismal. According to a Pew Research poll (so take it for what it is worth) 38% of Evangelical Christians read their Bible less than once a week. That means that 38% of professing Christians may read their Bible monthly or yearly. Now, I don’t know about you but that does not seem like a healthy diet.

How many people can survive on one meal a week? How many people can live on a couple meals a month or year? No one can. Beyond this, Life-way did a survey that said that only one in five Christians have read the whole Bible. One in five. That means that 80% of Christians have never read the whole Bible.

I’m not trying to beat anyone up here, but just to point out that it doesn’t seem like there is much of a longing for Word of God. We have countless ways to read the Bible. There are dozens of Bible apps, countless easily readable versions, multitudes of audio Bibles, but the trend is that the modern church is actually distancing itself from the Word of God. We are inundated with opportunity and availability. The Bible is everywhere. Yet, as a whole, we do not eat the Word. And the problem is everywhere.

Music within the church is rarely from the Scriptures. It is sappy emotional music meant to inspire good vibes, not feed people the Word. One of my favorite facts about the protestant reformation is that it restored music to the church. Previous to this, in medieval times, singing was not allowed in a service. Only monks sang in the monastery, but that was the extent of Christian worship through music. Well, as the reformation kicked off, music was recaptured as part of the essential elements of Christian worship on the Lord’s day.

But almost as soon as music was recaptured, a debate began. What do we sing? What music is appropriate to sing on the Lord’s Day? Unanimously the debate was settled by saying, we must at least sing the Psalms. God inspired a perfect songbook in the Bible. We have no option but to sing the Psalms. We can write a few hymns, but we simply MUST sing the Psalms. But we have lost that. We don’t sing the Word of God hardly at all anymore. I’m thankful there is a growing movement to do this again, but that movement is meeting resistance. Can you imagine that? There are people who are actually offended by singing the Word of God. Professing Christians angry at singing the Word of God.

But that’s not the only place we see the church distancing itself from the Word of God. Sermons are becoming more like TED talks meant to entertain rather than feed people the Word. The purpose of a sermon is to spend time in the Word of God. It is to feed the sheep. This is what Jesus told Peter in John 21:17 “17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

What was Peter to feed them? Peter himself answers that in this verse. What is the food Christians need? The Word of God! What are pastors to feed their sheep? The Word. That’s it. The Word. Not empty platitudes. Not their own opinions. They are to feed the sheep the Word of God. Why? Because Christians are to hunger for the Word. They are to crave it like a baby craves milk. They are to need it as a baby needs milk. It is to be their soul hunger. They are to cry out in anger and frustration if they are denied it.

Imagine that for a moment. Imagine what that would like. Christians actually weeping and wailing because they want the Word of God. Sunday morning comes and they cry out, “Enough! Enough of the show, we want the Word. Enough of the other things. We want the Word! Give us the Word! We are so hungry! No more songs that aren’t Scripture. No more performances. We want the Word!” That is the picture here.

I have heard many interesting complaints in my time as a pastor. Everything from a microphone being too loud or quite to the color of the flooring being distracting. But the one that always gets me is when someone complains about sermon length. That one always makes me chuckle just a little bit. And it’s always over something like five to ten minutes. There was one Sunday where I was preaching and we were in a longer text of Scripture and we spent ten minutes extra in this text. I warned them at the start of the message it would be a lot to cover, and I did my best to cut it down and cover it in a shorter time, but sure enough, ten minutes past dismissal.

Sure enough, that week I had to meet with two gentlemen. And they were livid. They kept asking, “do you have any idea how long you preached?” They just could not believe that I went ten minutes over. Now I was a young pastor. That was my first pastorate and these two were leaders in the church, and they were mad. I was pretty intimidated and honestly scared. I didn’t know how to handle this. It had never crossed my mind that people would be mad about ten minutes. I honestly thought they would leave the church or fire me in that meeting.

Looking back, here’s what I wish I had said. I didn’t say this, but knowing better now, I wish I had told them “your welcome.” That is what I should have said. Just that. You’re welcome. If questions had been raised about my reply, I should have flipped to this passage. Don’t you want more time in the Word? Don’t you hunger for more time in the Word as a church? Shouldn’t we shorten other things in the service and spend as much time as we can in the Word? You’re welcome. We got to spend ten extra minutes feasting on the Word of God. What a blessing.

Transition:

You see, healthy Christians hunger for the word. They cry out if it is denied them. They hunger for the Word of God because they have tasted the goodness of the Lord.

Point 3: Healthy Christians Hunger for the Word of God Because They Have Tasted the Goodness of the Lord.

1 Peter 2:3 “3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

Explanation:

Christians hunger for God’s Word because they have seen how good God is. They hunger and thirst for more God’s Word. Peter is here quoting from Psalm 34.

Psalm 34:8 “8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

If you have tasted the goodness of the Lord, how can you do anything but hunger for the Word of God. God has spoken to us through His Word. Do you want to hear the voice of God? Do you want to know His will for you? Do you want to know who God is? Read His Word. One pastor I love always says, “Do you want to hear God’s voice? Read the Bible. Do you want to Hear God’s Voice audibly? Read the Bible out loud.”

How can anyone who has tasted God’s goodness not want to hear from God? How can anyone who has tasted the goodness of God not want to hear from Him? God has saved us. He has blessed us beyond what we can possibly express.

Illustration:

I know this room is full of stories of God’s blessing. I know that you could all tell of God’s mercy and blessing. Let’s get interactive this morning for just a minute. How have you tasted the goodness of God? How has God blessed you? Just a couple people. How has God blessed you?

Allow the congregation to tell of God’s blessing.

God has blessed me more than I could say. He gave me life. He redeemed me in Christ. He forgave my sins. He gave me a wonderful wife and two fantastic sons. I could stand here all day and tell of how God has blessed me.

Argumentation:

And that is the message of Psalm 34. That is what Peter is quoting here. Just listen to the beginning of this Psalm.

Psalm 34

1  I will bless the LORD at all times;

his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2  My soul makes its boast in the LORD;

let the humble hear and be glad.

3  Oh, magnify the LORD with me,

and let us exalt his name together!

4  I sought the LORD, and he answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.

5  Those who look to him are radiant,

and their faces shall never be ashamed.

6  This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him

and saved him out of all his troubles.

7  The angel of the LORD encamps

around those who fear him, and delivers them.

8  Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

9  Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,

for those who fear him have no lack!

10  The young lions suffer want and hunger;

but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Is this not our testimony here this morning? Have we not tasted the love and mercy of God in our lives? I know I have. I have tasted God’s goodness. I cannot express to you the love and mercy and grace God has given me. I deserve wrath. But He has given me mercy.

Transition:

And this gift of mercy ought to change me.

Conclusion:

This taste of God’s goodness ought to make me want to lay down all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. I have tasted God’s goodness. I don’t want to live in those ways anymore. I have tasted God’s goodness, I now long for the Wordical milk. I long for the milk of God’s Word. I should hunger for it every day. I should be angry if I am denied the Word. I should want to read it, to study it, to preach it, to sing it, to live it.

Visualization:

You see, the benevolent love of God ought to cause Christians to hunger for the Word of God. We should long to devour His Word because we have tasted the goodness of God.

Reiteration:

Because we have tasted the lovingkindness of God, we ought to lay aside our sin and long for the milk of the Word like newborn infants.

Application:

And that is this passage. Three simple things.

Action 1: Lay aside sin.

Put away those sins. Do not find joy in other’s sufferings. Do not be deceitful. Do not puff yourself up in hypocrisy. Do not lie and gossip. Instead, taste the goodness of God. Be joyful, honest, genuine, and loving. Taste the goodness of God.

Action 2: Long for the Word.

Spend time in the Word of God. Feed yourself the pure milk of the Word. Read it. Study it. Long for it. If you need help in this, I understand. Often those who have been starved need aid in learning to eat again. That is okay. On the table in the back I placed handouts for the “To The Word” Bible reading challenge. This isn’t a perfect plan, but it is the plan I use and it is really helpful. I know we are partway into it but jump in. It is Monday-Saturday readings with rest days occasionally. Jump into. We can read it together. We can encourage one another in it. Join the To the Word reading challenge.

Action 3: Taste the goodness of the Lord.

I challenge you all this week. Take time to examine your lives. Look at how God has blessed you. Bask in the wondrous blessing God has given us. I promise you, if you see the grace God has given us, you will long for His Word.

Appeal:

Taste and see that the Lord, He is good. Hunger for His Word. Let’s pray.

Closing Prayer:

Our Great God and Father. Words escape me to thank you for all you’ve blessed us with. Thank you. Thank you for the gift of salvation. Thank you for the gift of grace. You are the one who has given us everything. We cannot thank you enough. Lord, we especially thank you for your Word. You have blessed us with your Word. We cannot thank you enough for this. Will you give us a hunger for it. Will you create in our hearts a starving hunger for your Word. May we be diligent in our reading and studying of your Word. Lord, bless this reading challenge. I know it isn’t a perfect system but may it be helpful to us. May we love your Word. May we love your Holy Word, God. Feed us through it. Grow us through it. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.

Offering:

Offertory Prayer:

Lord, we ask your blessing on this offering. Would you use it and bless it to the furtherance of your Kingdom. You have blessed us beyond words. As we give back to you in thanks, we ask that you would bless it and use it for your glory. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Benediction:

I leave you with the words of Psalm 34:8–10 “8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” Amen.